


Watch The Night Go Up In Smoke

by bloodbottle



Category: The Lost Boys (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 12:49:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30055737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodbottle/pseuds/bloodbottle
Summary: Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. The ‘never die’ was a pretty pivotal part of being a vampire so of course The Lost Boys survived the attack on them by the Emerson and Frog brothers. Sure they fled Santa Carla for a few decades and ultimately lost their sire but home is where you can easily kill people without being caught aka The Murder Capital Of The World. Avery Frog, the recluse child of vampire hunter Edgar Frog, doesn’t believe in any of this ‘vampire nonsense.’ What will happen when they disobey their father’s number one rule of not staying out past dark and meet a very handsome and flirty biker at a beach party?
Relationships: Paul (Lost Boys)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Avery Frog was always deemed “the weird kid” out of all their friends. Not because of anything they ever did. No, it all started with their seventh birthday party, before Christy Frog had tragically passed away. 

Just as the candles were being blown out, Avery’s father and uncle, Edgar and Alan Frog, stomped through the door holding stake guns and dripping blood all over the freshly cleaned rugs. All of Avery’s seven-year-old friends obviously screamed in absolute terror as their parents were all flabbergasted and disgusted at the sight before them. Each of the children along with their parents were quickly ushered out of the house with a rushed apology as well as the barely believable explanation that Edgar and Alan had just returned from a hunting trip and forgot they were coming home to a child’s party.

Things obviously worsened after Christy, the wife of Edgar Frog and mother of Avery, fell sick. Avery almost never left the house and their mother’s side during this time and lost almost all their friends turning into a recluse. They were only 13 when she passed away peacefully in her sleep. Christy was the more level-headed between her and her husband, never letting his profession stop Avery from living a normal life. Edgar, crippled by the passing of his true love, held on tightly to his only child and the only direct link to his deceased wife he had left. He was strict but it was to protect them. He had to know who was in their friend group and where they were at all times. However, his most strict rule was that Avery was never allowed out past dark.

As Avery entered high school, this obviously made whatever remnants of a social life they had left crumble completely. With a weird father and uncle who didn’t understand social cues, a dead mother, and now a completely unreasonable curfew, Avery was a total social outcast, and hanging out with them would almost instantly be the death of any chance of popularity. 

This, however, did not affect Avery’s best friend since diapers, Mikayla Emerson. She was the daughter of Edgar Frog’s lifelong friend, Sam Emerson.

They were complete polar opposites. While Avery was forcefully made into an introvert by the tragedy that is having the Frog name, Mikayla was a bubbly, sweet, and sociable teenager. Avery’s father always told them that she was a spitting image of her father from when they first met. Nobody really understood why the two of them were so close and worked so well together but nobody dared to question it. 

If you were caught talking shit about Mikayla’s cousin and it got back to her, then you could consider your high school social life flushed down the toilet. Despite the fact that Avery was best friends and practically family with one of the most popular girls at school, it granted them no entry to any sort of clique.

While Mikayla could never save Avery’s social life at school she would be damned if she couldn’t at least get them a social life in public. They were both 18 and finishing up their senior year, in just a few months, nothing from school would matter anymore. They’d be two adults in the real world, no longer held back by embarrassing birthday parties, or dead moms, or weird dads and uncles. Two new faces. Mikayla, while a total sweetheart and the apple of her father’s eye was a rebel at heart and knew that Edgar Frog’s restrictions that he set on his kid were stupid. There was a party on the beach this Friday night and she was going to help Avery sneak out and finally see how wonderful the world is and just how magical the Santa Carla boardwalk can be at night.

* * *

Friday night had finally arrived, and the only way Avery could describe how they felt was nervous. Sneaking out was totally risky and completely out of character for them but their cousin had insisted that they go to “Blast on the Beach.” It was an annual event and anybody who was anybody would be at this party, not just high-schoolers. This could be Avery’s chance to finally branch out and meet people who didn’t think of them as some sort of hermit with the father who walked into a child’s birthday party covered in blood.

After dinner, Avery had excused themself telling their father that they were feeling a bit under the weather and worn down from the past week and that they were heading to bed early. Avery thankfully lived in a single-story home with their father so there’d be no climbing needed for when their cousin showed up to sneak them out.

Avery paced around their room waiting 15 minutes before they heard a light tapping on their window. Mikayla stood outside with a smile that stretched a mile wide across her face. She was sure her cousin was going to back out at the last minute but there they were, impatiently awaiting her arrival already dressed for the party. 

Avery had opened the window slowly, making as little noise as possible before looking around their room once more, “I should probably bring a jacket right?” they asked their cousin.

Mikayla quickly nodded before motioning to the door of Avery’s bedroom, “Don’t forget to turn off the light and lock the door so it looks like you’re asleep and don’t wanna be bothered.”

Avery quietly rushed and did as their cousin told them to before grabbing their leather jacket off their desk chair and silently maneuvering their way out the bedroom window.

They landed on the dirt outside with a muted thud as their boots hit the ground. Avery readjusted their jacket, checking for any tears. This jacket was very important to the teenager, Avery had found it when they were raiding their Uncle Mikey’s closet with Mikayla. It was a very popular pastime of theirs when they were just entering high school and wanted to look cool. Mikayla mainly stole a few pieces from their Aunt Star’s wardrobe but Avery was inexplicably drawn to this jacket. 

They had never seen Mikey ever wear it so they figured he wouldn’t put up much of a fight when they asked for it. Avery remembered how apprehensive their uncle seemed when they had first held it up to ask to keep it. For something he almost never used, he was pretty reluctant to let it go. Their Aunt Star finally convinced him to give it to the teen telling him that it was okay to let go of the past. It seemed rather deep considering it was just a jacket that didn’t seem to hold much importance but Avery chose not to dwell on it for too long.

Mikayla, obviously not a stranger to sneaking out for a night of fun had everything planned to a T. She had parked a few blocks away from the Frog household to not raise any alarms. The two 18-year-olds hopped into her jeep and raced off to the boardwalk. As they arrived they saw that the parking lot was incredibly crowded but she managed to find a parking spot next to four gorgeous motorcycles. Mikayla and Avery climbed out of the vehicle and made their way to the beach where a giant bonfire was roaring away as teenagers and 20-somethings raged around it already completely wasted and ready to have the best night of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: underaged drinking, some mind control, puking, driving under the influence

_ Mikayla and Avery climbed out of the vehicle and made their way to the beach where a giant bonfire was roaring away as teenagers and 20-somethings raged around it already completely wasted and ready to have the best night of their lives. _

It was well past midnight when Avery was sipping on only their second drink of the night, they were buzzed but still very much coherent and aware of their surroundings. Mikayla was a completely different story, she had jumped straight into drinking as soon as they reached the party. She had absolutely no issue socializing with complete strangers either. It was like she was a magnet for attention. 

Avery had prayed that tonight would change their social status but with every person that walked up and sparked a conversation with their cousin, they reverted further into their shell. Nobody even took notice of them and they had to admit, it kinda hurt. 

Avery had almost completely lost hope when a group of four boys approached them. They walked with such an air of confidence, Avery begged whatever higher power there was for them to at least acknowledge them and it seemed that that plea might’ve been answered.

“Hey, you two look like you’re having fun,” the biker with the fluffed blonde hair said. Mikayla giggled drunkenly as her eyes wandered to the tallest of the group with the flowing dark tresses.

Avery stood shocked, he was speaking directly to them. They quickly unfroze and stuttered out awkwardly, “Yeah, we’re having the absolute time of our lives right now.” The teenager cringed in embarrassment as the Twisted Sister look-alike laughed.

Mikayla, who was previously leaning on her cousin’s shoulder to stop herself from face-planting in the sand strutted up to the boy she was previously eyeing and wrapped a piece of his hair around her pointer finger flirtily, “I could think of something more fun that you and I could do. My name’s Mikayla.”

Avery’s face lit up bright red at their cousin’s words as they rushed over to her and tugged her away from the leather-clad biker. “I am so sorry about her, she’s definitely drunk enough for tonight,” they apologized quickly.

The four boys laughed at the two of them, amused by their dynamic. The biker who stood closest to them smiled at Avery, “Don’t worry about it, at least you know she has taste.” Avery laughed lightly at his statement.

The first boy walked up to Avery and threw an arm over their shoulder, “I don’t know about that, Dwayne. I mean how could she possibly have taste if she didn’t even throw herself at me?” he laughed before turning to Avery, their faces only inches away from one another. “You get what I mean, right?”

Avery’s face flushed as another member of the group, this one with a platinum blonde mullet and completely clad in black, spoke up, “Leave the poor kid alone, Paul. We don’t need them fainting on us.” He gazed at Avery, his bright blue eyes seemed to pierce into their very soul, “You two do seem like a good time though and you don’t seem to be having the most fun here. I know a place we could all go and let loose, just a little intimate party for the six of us if you’re down for it.”

Avery felt their mind go fuzzy for a few seconds as they actually considered leaving with this group of boys but those thoughts were quickly torn away as they felt Mikayla’s body next to them start to fold in on itself. She heaved over and let loose the contents of her stomach all over the sand at their feet.

The four bikers all looked shocked at the scene in front of them as Avery went into protective mode over their cousin. They held her hair back and held her up by the waist as she continued to gag.

The teenager looked up at the boys, “Sorry but we’re gonna have to pass up that offer, I really should get my cousin home. Maybe we can hang out some other time?”

They all nodded as Mikayla finally managed to get a hold of herself and Avery began to usher her away from the party.

David spoke before they were able to completely get away, “Nice jacket by the way.”

Avery nodded, confused as to why he’d bring up their jacket at such a random time, “Uh, thanks, I guess.” 

“Aww come on, Avery, I wanna hang out with them,” Mikayla whined as Avery readjusted the girl on their shoulder and continued the walk towards the girl’s jeep.

Mikayla was leaned up against the vehicle as Avery searched her pockets for the keys to the car. Finally fishing them out, they unlocked the car and Avery helped their cousin into the passenger side. They walked around the front and hopped into the driver’s side as Mikayla was struggling to buckle her seatbelt.

Her head lolled to the side as she looked at her cousin pathetically while holding out the buckle of her seatbelt, “Please help.”

Avery rolled their eyes and buckled Mikayla’s seatbelt and then their own and started the car. 

“We totally should’ve gone with them,” she pouted looking out the window towards the boardwalk.

“Kay, you literally hit on one of them and then proceeded to vomit all over the place. I’m taking you home for a reason.” Avery said incredulously.

“Well yeah, my chances were completely blown, but I brought you here so that you could get a social life. The pretty one was totally hitting on you, what was his name again? Saul?”

“Paul. His name was Paul.”

“See you care enough about him that you bothered to actually remember his name. If you two don’t hang out soon, I’ll scream. You two would be so cute together, with him being all outgoing and flirty and with you being more introverted and shy. He could finally pull you out of your shell,” she rambled obviously still under the influence. Avery shook their head, letting silence fill the vehicle.

“Where did you say we were going again?” Mikayla slurred, looking at her cousin.

“I’m taking you home, your dad would kill us if he found out we both snuck out and never came back home.”

Mikayla gasped, shooting up in her seat, “No! You can’t take me home, he’ll kill me for being drunk!”

“I think he’d prefer seeing you drunk than seeing you on a missing person’s poster. He might be mad but at least he’ll know that you made it home safe, I’m trying to be responsible here, Mikayla.”

The girl slumped in her seat, scowling at her cousin and their stupid moral compass. They had pulled into the driveway of the Emerson house as Avery noticed the living room light on, “Looks like you’re busted either way.” Mikayla groaned.

The two of them hopped out of the vehicle, Avery passing the keys to their cousin which she fumbled terribly. They walked up to the front door which was unlocked and made their walk of shame into the living room where Sam Emerson was lounged on a recliner watching reruns on the TV. He glanced up at his daughter noticing the kid of his best friend next to her.

He spoke to his daughter in a stern voice, “You had your mother and I worried sick when we found your bed empty and window open. We’ll talk about this in the morning, now go to your room.” He didn’t give her the opportunity to explain herself. She nodded her head solemnly and stumbled up the steps up to her room.

Sam turned his head to Avery, “Does your father know where you are?” They shook their head. Sam nodded in understanding, “Let me get my shoes and jacket, I’ll give you a ride home.”

They were driving through the streets back to the Frog household when Sam spoke up, “Mind telling me what tonight was all about?”

Avery, not used to being in trouble, immediately spilled the beans, “Mikayla wanted to help me sneak out so we could go to this party on the beach so I could meet people and become more social. Everything was going fine until she accidentally drank too much. Then she hit on this guy and ended up puking in front of him so I took her home.”

Sam looked at Avery with wide eyes, surprised at how easy it was to get the full story out of them. He sighed and turned his eyes back to the road before stopping at the end of Avery’s street, “I appreciate you telling me the truth, so for that, I won’t be telling Edgar what happened tonight. While I don’t approve of the way you went about things, I’m glad that you’re trying to open yourself to other people. Just be careful around people around the beach and boardwalk, there’s a lot of weirdos in Santa Carla that you don’t need to get wrapped up in okay?”

Avery nodded quickly before throwing themself over the center console and hugging their uncle around the neck tightly, “Thank you so much, Uncle Sam. I promise I’ll be careful and hopefully, this never happens again.”

He smiled softly at the teenager, “Good, now you better get home before your dad realizes you’re gone.”

Avery quickly hopped out of the car and waved goodbye to their uncle before walking down the street and creeping back in through their window into their bedroom where the lights were still off and the door still locked. They had made it back and nothing bad happened.

It was 3 am when Avery finally settled into bed. Just as they shut their eyes, their imagination began to act up. What might’ve happened if they had gone with those boys. The thought made them queasy. They were so willing to go before Mikayla got sick, Avery felt like their thoughts were completely out of control. Thinking of David made their stomach churn with uneasiness. Something about him seemed dangerous, even deadly. Then Avery remember him, Paul. 

His hand around their shoulder, the look in his eyes, everything about him seemed to reel Avery. It took everything in them to not lean in further when their faces were so close together. 

Avery felt their stomach flutter at the thought. Maybe Mikayla was right, they could be good together.


	3. Chapter 3

The boys flew back in through the opening of the cave whooping and cheering as they went. It was a good night of feeding for them, they eventually found a group of seven or so stragglers after they left the bonfire. 

The drunken 20-year-olds had put up a serious fight that had made it all the more fun for the vampires, which had left them all with torn and blood-drenched clothing. None of them were opposed to playing with their food before chowing down.

Dwayne was using a spare t-shirt that was left laying on the ground to wipe the blood from his torso before speaking to the others, “Tonight was pretty fun but I think it would’ve been better if we got those two from the bonfire first.”

Marko rolled his eyes while throwing his jacket on the couch and going to replace his crop top, “Why? The one you had the hots for got sick all over herself and the other one came off as bland.” To say the least, he was unimpressed, maybe after giving them a bit of a scare they’d be more entertaining but as he saw it, they weren’t anything all that special.

“I don’t know about bland, did you see their jacket?” David spoke interrupting the two’s discussion.

“Dude, why are you so obsessed with their jacket, I didn’t notice anything about it,” Paul snorted. 

“While you were struggling to keep it in your pants, Paul,” he said sharply, “ I noticed that their jacket looked an awful lot like Michael’s old jacket.” He lit a cigarette, “Something seems off about them.”

“David, you’re probably just being paranoid. Avery looks nothing like Michael or Star, before we came back we checked and they aren’t even in Santa Carla anymore. They probably just picked up at a thrift store or something, you know the boardwalk used to sell dozens of jackets that looked exactly like that back in the day,” Paul said. “Besides, what harm could they do? They looked afraid of their own shadow, I doubt there’s anything they could even do to hurt us.”

“Be careful, man. We underestimated humans before and it almost killed us,” Marko put a hand on Paul’s shoulder.

“I know dude, but this feels different,” Paul told him. “Something about the Emersons felt weird from day one but I didn’t get that feeling this time, they seem pretty chill.” 

Marko seemed unconvinced and a little weirded out by the boy’s tone. He never talks about strangers like this, as if he actually likes them.

The strange feeling enveloped each of them, David and Dwayne being equally concerned about Paul’s behavior as Marko was. David sent a message through his mental link to Marko and Dwayne that he wished to speak to the other boy alone. They both walked towards the back of the cave to their sleeping quarters to give Paul and David some privacy.

“What is all of this?” David questioned the rocker.

“What do you mean?” Paul inquired, “There’s nothing going on.”

“There obviously is, you don’t talk about humans the way that you’re talking about this Avery kid. What’s so special about them?”

“It’s nothing, man. They just seemed like they’d be a good time if I was given the chance to loosen them up a bit.”

“Loosen them up?” David took a puff from his cigarette, “Paul, you normally go for girls that throw themselves at you because you hate having to do the extra work of getting them to like you. This thing you have for Avery seems like a lot more than what you’re making it out to be and I’m concerned for the safety of our group if you continue to pursue them.” David sighed heavily, “You know what happened the last time we tried bringing someone in, we need to be careful.”

“I’ve talked to them once, David,” Paul said, exasperated. “You’re the one who’s making it out way more than it has to be.”

“So if I told you to hunt them down tomorrow night and rip their throat out, you’d do it?” David said coarsely.

Paul hesitated.

“You wouldn’t, would you?” David accused.

“I don’t know, dude. I guess they might be different, okay? I don’t even know why I picked them out, they really aren’t the type I normally go for when I’m looking for a bite. I just felt this pull, you know? Like I had to walk up to them.”

David sighed frustrated, “A pull, you felt a pull?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what the hell it means.”

“Before Max died,” David paused, “when it was just the two of us and none of you were turned yet, he explained some of the basics of vampirism. And he once mentioned mates. Vampires have these predestined soulmates that are supposed to stick by their side forever and Max told me that while it’s extremely rare for vampires to find their mates, the ones that do describe a sort of ‘pull’ that led them to them.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us this? You think Avery might be my mate?”

“I didn’t tell you because I felt it was unimportant. I also didn’t need you running off trying to find the love of your life when staying in a group is the best way to survive as a vampire. I don’t know if they’re your mate, but the way you describe it is eerily similar to the way Max described mates to me.”

Paul didn’t respond, trying to process everything his leader just told him. He might have a mate, a human mate. That only spelled out disaster considering the last time someone took an interest in a human was when David tried turning Michael. He slowly shook his head, not wanting to go down that route again. 

Paul frowned and looked back to David, “Y’know what man, I was probably just stoned out of my mind. The sun’s almost up, so I’m gonna get some sleep and I’m sure it’ll all blow over by tomorrow night.”

David shook his head at Paul’s retreating figure, he needed to prepare the group for the worst. Paul could deny it all he wants but deep down David knew that something big was coming and Avery was just the start of it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mature but not not explicit scenes, drug use, murder

Avery had dressed up for the occasion, their first date with Paul. Sure they were just gonna hang out at a bonfire for the night but it was their first date ever, and Avery really wanted to impress the boy. 

Avery was walking down the boardwalk after night fell and found Paul leaning against his bike looking as drop-dead sexy as they remembered him from the night before. They approached the biker with the biggest smile they could muster, trying to cover how nervous they felt.

“Damn, you look good enough to eat,” Paul said, putting his hands on Avery’s waist and pulling them in for a kiss. “You ready to have a good time?”

Avery nodded quickly but felt an uneasiness settle in the pit of their stomach. Something about the way he complimented them seemed just a little bit off. Avery shook off the feeling, mentally contributing it to first date jitters. Paul was sweet and Avery was shocked that he even asked them out. They didn’t seem like the type that Paul would normally go for but he had been the one to ask for a date.

As the two walked down the boardwalk hand in hand, Avery could feel the jealous stares burning into their back as they passed groups of scantily-clad girls that were vying for just a moment of Paul’s attention which he never granted. His eyes never left Avery as he asked random questions about their life and interests. He seemed so invested in getting to know them, he came off like a puppy eager to please.

They had walked down the steps and onto the beach when Avery looked around trying to find an empty spot to build a fire, “So where do you think we should sit?”

Paul, who was zoned out as they stepped on the sand, turned to Avery, “Hmm? Oh, I was actually thinking we could set up a bit further down, away from all these big groups. They get pretty rowdy, I don’t want them to interrupt our date, you know?” He smirked down at them.

Avery nodded in understanding. The churning in their gut started up again. Getting away from the crowd on a first date in the murder capital of the world seemed a little risky. Paul seemed great but their head reeled at the possibilities. Was he expecting sex? Avery definitely wasn’t comfortable doing that, especially on a public beach where anyone could walk up on them.

As the crowd of beach-goers faded further and further into the background, Avery saw a bonfire a few hundred feet in front of them. It seemed like they had the same idea as Paul. They looked up at him and saw his grin widen as he grabbed Avery by the hand and started dragging them towards the group.

When they approached the bonfire, Avery noticed that sat upon a few pieces of driftwood were the three boys that were hanging out with Paul the previous night.

“Guys, this is Avery. Avery you probably remember the guys from last night,” he pointed to the one Mikayla hit on, “That’s Dwayne,” the curly-haired on with the colorful jacket, “Marko,” and the one dressed in all black smoking a cigarette and looking as if he’d rather be anyplace else, “and David.”

Avery waved to the boys shyly before looking to Paul and gesturing to the three girls that surrounded the fire, “and them?”

“Oh, they’re just a few people who invited us to hang out, don’t worry about it.” Paul dragged Avery over to a log and sat down, pulling them into his lap roughly. They gasped, forcing a laugh out of the boy beneath them, “You’re so pent up babe, you gotta chill out.” He pulls a blunt out of his pocket and lights it before offering it to them, “You wanna take a hit?”

“Uh, I’ve never-” They trail off feeling stupid. Their dad was so strict, they never got to try anything or take any risks or just live their life.

“Relax, I’ll help you. Open your mouth, I’m gonna blow some smoke in and I need to breathe in when I do that, okay?”

They nod and open their mouth as Paul inhales from the blunt. He grabs Avery by the chin and exhales the smoke as they breathe it in. Paul then closes their mouth but doesn’t put any distance between the two. “Okay, now hold it in for a few seconds before you breathe out.” 

Avery holds their breath for a few seconds as they feel their lungs burn. It quickly becomes too much as they cough it up, puffs of smoke exiting their mouth in quick bursts.

Paul laughs at Avery’s inexperience. “Don’t worry, it gets easier once you’ve taken a few hits,” Paul says, taking another hit.

Avery blushed, looking away from Paul and noticing the three girls hanging off each one of the other boys as if they were in some sort of trance. They saw Marko trail a hand up the leg of a redhead while running his nose across the girl’s shoulder, “Man, I’m fucking starving.” As if face neared her neck Avery saw something that they felt they shouldn’t have seen, Marko’s face contorted and shifted into a terrifying mask made of sharp angles and glowing yellow eyes. Avery gasped in horror as he opened his mouth and produced a pair of sharp fangs that he promptly sunk into the neck of the girl. She let out a scream before it was stifled by the boy as he tore at her artery and crushed her windpipe between his teeth.

Avery stared in silent terror looking to the other boys to see what they were doing about the current situation only to realize their faces also shifted and they were on top of the other girls tearing at flesh and grabbing them before they could run away. “Paul! Paul, what’s happening? We need to leave!” Avery shot up before turning to Paul and grabbing his hand. 

They froze as they felt claws rest in their palm and Paul’s face slowly morphed into that of a monster’s, “What’s wrong, babe? You were having fun just a little bit ago,” he said menacingly. Avery stumbled backward and landed on the sand looking up at Paul with eyes full of fear. They didn’t even have time before Paul leaped on them, fangs bared. 

Avery shot up in bed to their morning alarm, panting and drenched in sweat. ‘It was only a dream’ they repeated to themself, ‘only a dream.’ 

There was a knock on Avery’s door that remained locked from the night before. “Just a minute,” Avery shouted, trying to regain their bearings. They stood from their bed and turned off their alarm before approaching the door and unlocking it.

Avery’s father stood in front of them with a mildly worried look on his face, “You okay? I heard some thrashing around in here and I thought I’d come check on you before I head out.”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I was just having a bad dream but everything’s okay now.”

Edgar nodded stiffly at his kid before changing the subject, he was never great at comforting people. That was definitely more Christy’s job. “So your uncle and I are heading to the mountains for a few days on a hunting trip. We should be back before Tuesday but if anything changes I’ll call you.”

Avery nodded their head and rested it on the doorframe, “Okay, dad. If anything happens here I’ll text you.”

“Okay good, just remember-”

“No staying out after dark, I know.” Avery cut their father off.

“Right. Food money is on the kitchen counter. Call Sam if you need anything immediately and be good while I’m gone,” Edgar pulls Avery for a hug before retreating towards the door. He quickly waves goodbye before leaving his home, getting into his car and driving away.

Sunset was approaching when Avery’s phone began ringing, the caller ID reading their cousin’s name.

“Hello?” Avery spoke into the phone.

“Hey, please tell me you had fun last night so that it makes this grounding at least a little bit worth it.”

“I had fun last night.”

“Are you lying?” 

“No,” Avery laughed, “I’m not lying. Last night didn’t suck nearly as much as I thought it would. I mean it definitely wasn’t fun prying you off a guy only to have you puked in front of him, but beyond that I had a good time.”

“Oh thank god, I swear this week would be torture if you hated last night. I’m grounded until next Saturday night, no going out, no computer or phone unless it’s for school and I have to be in bed with lights out by 10. I had to beg my dad just to let me call you.”

“Damn that sucks.”

“Tell me about it. But anyways, that cute guy who was all over you last night, are you gonna see him again?”

Avery blushed, thankful that their cousin couldn’t see them through the phone, “Maybe, I didn’t get his number or anything and I don’t know how willing he’d be to hang out with me after I rushed out last night.”

“Avery, please. He totally wanted to get with you and there’s no way he’d let little ol’ puking me get in the way of that. And a little birdie may have told me that you’re home alone until Tuesday?”

“A little birdie huh? You mean you weren’t eavesdropping on a conversation between our dads?”

“Avery Frog! How could you accuse me of such a thing?” Mikayla said dramatically through the phone.

Avery snickered at their cousin.

“All jokes aside, you have to go out again and find your man! Your dad isn’t around to stop you, you deserve to live a little!” Mikayla pleaded with them.

Avery considered their cousin’s words before letting out a sigh, “Okay, I’ll go to the boardwalk again tonight.”


End file.
